Steve Cotterill agrees to take over at Nottingham Forest

14 October 2011 12:51

Steve Cotterill has confirmed he has agreed to take over as manager at Nottingham Forest.

Both Forest and npower Championship rivals Portsmouth are yet to make an official announcement but the details of the agreement, which will include a compensation package for Pompey, are believed to have been ironed out.

Cotterill will now head to the City Ground to put pen to paper.

On the move: Cotterrill has agreed to take the Forest job

'It's been finalised this morning but I can't sign any papers from down here,' Cotterill said.

'I've had a great relationship with everybody at Portsmouth and it's been quite upsetting. It hasn't been an easy decision and the players and staff have been nothing short of fantastic. It's been tough today.'

He added: 'Forest are a fantastic club. From the time that I knew about their interest it was obviously flattering.'

Cotterill succeeds Steve McClaren who resigned 12 days ago after just three-and-a-half months in charge.

All change: Clark became the new chairman after McClaren exited

The 47-year-old led city rivals Notts County to promotion from League Two in May 2010 during a brief stint in charge at Meadow Lane before taking the reins at Pompey a month later.

He guided the south-coast club to a 16th-placed finish in the second tier last season despite their tough financial predicament and threadbare squad

Cotterill's appointment completes a remarkable two-week turnaround at the City Ground and is the first act of new chairman Frank Clark, himself only appointed on Wednesday after Nigel Doughty took the decision to stand down at the same time as McClaren, albeit remaining as owner.

Add to that the decision of David Pleat to depart his part-time consultancy role with Forest in late September and the Reds will be more than happy to get back to footballing matters this weekend and a trip to midlands rivals Coventry.

Plenty to ponder: Cotterill's task is to lead Forest up from the foot of the table

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